High Hopes
by Raiskeks
Summary: It's the year 2014 and the Croatoan virus has exterminated almost every city in America. There are only a few survivors left, fighting against the lethal disease and the monsters it creates. Although the quirky librarian Maddison Jones is probably the worst person ever, to be living through a Zombie-apocalypse – she manages to get in the middle of everything. Enter Dean Winchester.
1. Chapter 1

**Disclaimer:** I don't own anything related to our favourite TV show Supernatural ;)

A/N: Hey guys, sooo I had an idea about an endverse!AU and surprise - wrote it.  
And to cut a long story short, I hope you like it and I look forward to your reviews.

PS: English is not my native language, so if you find any mistakes, feel free to point them out to me.

Enjoy! :)

 **Chapter 1 – The Beginnings**

 _I'm waking up to ash and dust  
I wipe my brow and sweat my rust  
I'm breathing in the chemicals  
I'm breaking in, shaping up, then checking out on the prison bus  
This is it, the apocalypse_

 _Imagine Dragons – Radioactive_

Birds. Freaking birds chirping. Functioning like a clockwork. What's a rooster, when you can have jovial birds at five in the morning to wake you up! Groaning and slowly blinking the sleep from my eyes, I looked around the small tent. My body ached from the workload yesterday, washing the dirty and sometimes blood crusted shirts of the men and women in the camp. I hated that task, but what can one professional librarian do in the face of a zombie apocalypse, without a library? Not much, I would say…

Well, technically the zombies are referred to as 'croats' around here. But after reading hundreds of fictional books about zombies you are inclined to call humans with no emotions and the need to kill and eat your flesh – zombies.

To be honest, I don't really know how I ended up in a real life zombie movie though. Nobody in their right mind would have imagined what went down. It started about three years ago. First the government (you can't trust politicians) tried to talk it down. They said it was only a small misconception and the leading physicians were doing their best to find a fast antidote. Truth was, there were no leading physicians and there was no antidote. They were all out of their depths and the world went into a state of emergency. City after city went down.

I was lucky that I had spent my holidays at my aunt's house out in the country, with miles of land around us and no civilisation in sight. We heard the news over the radio and I immediately tried to phone my parents, but I never reached them and they never called. I didn't want to believe it, I couldn't believe it, but deep down I knew they fell victim to the virus. My aunt was my saving grace, because with certainty if I had been alone I wouldn't be alive anymore.

We camped out at her house for a few days and tried to wait for instructions from the government or the army to come through. The television went down after two days, the radio station lasted for another four. After that it was only static – no signs of humanity.

I cried for two days.

I really thought my life would end right at that moment, because I couldn't comprehend all that or rather I didn't want to. Either way, my aunt took matters into her own hands. She slapped me across the face, told me to get my bearings together or I was no relative of her – she always was more on the rough side.

Her husband was a ranger once, he died of lung cancer many years ago, but left an arsenal of weapons behind. She collected them all: shotguns, handguns, knives, machetes. She also packed all of her canned food and water, clothes to wear and a handful of old photos. She howled me out of the house and into the jeep and off we went.

We spent days on the road trying to find survivors before the car broke down. There was nothing left in the tank, so we had to move by foot. After day two and a quick nap at a rundown and really disgusting motel, we ran into the first croats. My heart had hammered in my chest I was sure they could hear it, that's how loud it was. I was absolutely terrified! There was this brutal cold hunger in their eyes, no traces of humanity left. They were like animals, wild animals. I will never forget the feeling that overcame me, that feeling of utter hopelessness and the fundamental need to scream.

But before a single sound left my throat and any further gory thoughts invaded my mind, a gunshot nearly tore my right eardrum apart. "Run!" was the first thing I registered after that and surprisingly my body reacted faster than my brain, because next thing I knew, I was running down the narrow alleyway, my aunt hot on my heels – smoking shotgun in hand.

After several turns we leaped into an empty building, or rather we thought it was empty. It was an old pharmacy, which seemed to be raided, but there were still a few antibiotics and other medicine packages of value on the shelfs. As my eyes drifted further to the counter, I was rooted to the spot, behind it stood two man both pointing guns at my aunt's and my head with a steady grip. Never in my life was I happier than in that moment.

So that would be the tale of how we joined Camp Chitaqua. It was a large space deep in the forest outside of the ruins of Kansas City, with old hunting cabins and makeshift military tents for the big number of people who inhabited the camp. Every day I was dreaming about living in one of the log cabins, but you had to be freaking lucky or you had to be of great use for the community to get in one of those.

The tents were okay, but they weren't that comfortable, for apparent reasons. Not far from them, there was this huge place where they dumped all of the junk (and when I say all of the junk, I mean all of the junk!). It reeked terrible, but they said, it helped to hide us from the zombies – as if! The real protection was a chainlink fence topped with barbed wire which surrounded the entire camp and the patrols who guarded the fence day in and day out. They looked grim and never smiled, and what bothered me the most – they didn't talk. Nevertheless I still greeted every time I saw one of them, because I was aware of what they did for us.

The rustling of fabric at my tent's entry informed me of company. I rolled out of bed and stretched my limbs.

"Hey Maddison!" The young redheaded girl popped through the cracks of the tent and waved hello. She was a little red faced – it clashed horrible with her hair. She reminded me a bit of Ginny Weasley with a spoonful of Ron personality and probably a handful of bitchy Cho Chang mixed into. I liked her a lot!

"Brynn what are you doing here? You're supposed to be in school." I tried to reprimand her, but she just rolled her eyes at me and made a dismissive hand gesture. I gave her a stern look.

"Oh come on that is so boring. I want to learn how to fight and not how to freaking milk a cow. That is so 1965." She whined and plopped down on the opposite end of my bed.

"Wow, could you be less Taylor Swift and more like a teenager in a zombie apocalypse?" My commentary earned me what she called 'bitchface number 7', another eye-roll and a mumbled "Duh no, 'cause there is no fun in that." And before I could say anything else, she moved on.

"Anyway I heard from Carl that there is another supply run, like right now, they are loading everything they need on the jeeps. Please Maddie, come with me, I want to watch when they leave!" Brynn grabbed my hand and pulled - urgently. I stumbled from my sitting position on the bed to a standing one – she must have trained, there was no way a seventeen-year-old girl was stronger than a thirty-two year old, and no I was not looking for an excuse for my lack of muscle tissue.

"Come on Maddie!" Brynn tugged again and I barely had time to slip into my shoes and put on a grey cardigan from the lonesome stool standing in the corner, before I was pulled from the warmth of the tent into the cold crisped air of winter.

"It's going to be a huge one. They want to go near the city and clear out an old warehouse. They say there's lots of canned food and toilet paper!" The Redhead informed me and I grunted unintelligently. I knew we needed supplies badly, but I hated the idea of a few men going out and risking their lives for the likes of me – or generally the people in this camp. I should be able to take care of myself, I was a freaking adult, but the truth said otherwise. There was a bigger chance for the little seventeen-year-old to handle this situation better than I ever would.

I sighed. "You could've let me change at least. It's freezing and I'm standing here in my ridiculous pyjama." I earned another eye-roll – the third today. You know, if I didn't love her like a sister, I would have totally slapped her upside the head right then and there. She could be an annoying little pickle sometimes.

We stopped near the market place in the middle of the camp. There were two jeeps, four men and two women loading weapons onto them. It wasn't an unfamiliar sight, but despite how many times I would watch it unfold, it would just never feel right.

"Look, look – there he is. He's soo cute." Brynn exclaimed und jumped slightly on the spot and successfully diverting me from the dark places in my brain. I suppressed a chuckle. "Who?"

"Chuck!" She pointed to a short man with a beard and dark slightly curly hair. He had a clipboard in hand and was talking to a blonde man standing next to him. Chuck 'No Last Name' was the guy who kept track of our stock. I raised an eyebrow. "Isn't he like… too old for you? He's like ancient."

"Oh wow way to insult yourself Maddie," came the sarcastic retort from Brynn. "He is like, only a few years older than you."

"Well, you're only seventeen, so that's not even legal." I countered.

"As you like to say, we're living in a freaking zombie apocalypse. There is no such thing as legal or not legal," Brynn shrugged and grinned. "Besides, I'm not the one who has a crush on a fictional character," she grinned and continued changing her voice into a higher pitch. "Oh Sirius Black is such a cutie-pie. I wish I could meet him. He's literally so hot. Why didn't she write a book about the Marauder? What a shame!"

Brynn broke off and cackled, I crossed my arms and glared at her. "I don't talk like that! And I do not have a crush on Sirius Black!" I pointed out and huffed. "And there are rules, Brynn."

"Spoilsport." She muttered half smirking and turned back to the events around us. The group had packed everything into the cars and was now ready to depart. I shivered and hopped from one foot to the other.

"Can I go back now? They are leaving. I want to change and I think you, young lady, have to go to your classes!" Okay, now I was sounding like a seventy-year-old.

Brynn shrugged with her shoulders and began to dismiss my comment about school, but stopped herself and got that specific gleam in her eyes which I really really really didn't like – at all.

"What?" I asked carefully.

"Sooo, you and Steve – did you make up again after your yelling session last Tuesday?" Brynn grinned dirty and made 'kissy faces'. My face grew hot and I turned away. Nope, I would not talk about Steve and I, because there was nothing to talk about ever again. That man was one of the worst representatives of the male species.

"Go to school Brynn." I said instead of answering her question, turned on my heels and trotted away from her, ignoring her 'Maddie, where are you going? What's going on?' shouts.

I had to fight back some tears and truth be told, suddenly I didn't want to go back to the part of the camp where the tents stood. So I chose the path through the rows of old wooden cabins, where dry leaves rested on the small stairs leading to the doors. I inhaled the fresh air and rubbed my cold hands together. I really hoped that I wouldn't get a cold. During these days a cold could be fatal.

After a few silent minutes, I stopped dead in my steps as I heard a small commotion coming from one of the nearest cabins. My eyes zoomed in on the cabin without a door – Castiel's cabin. The 'stoner' of the camp, who grew marijuana in plant pots, and held orgies with different women every other week. And no, I was never part of that.

I looked left and right, but there wasn't another person to witness the very vocal fight that broke out in the cabin. I should have kept moving, but I couldn't stop myself from listening. I was so going to regret this.


	2. Chapter 2

**Disclaimer:** I don't own anything related to our favourite TV show Supernatural ;)

A/N: Hellooo everyone, how are you on this fine day?

Sooo here is Chapter Numero 2. Hope you enjoy it and feel free to leave a review (this would make me soo happy). And also thanks for the lovely review on my first chapter :)

 **Chapter 2 – Secrets Reveal Truth**

 _Got a secret  
Can you keep it?  
Swear this one you'll save  
Better lock it in your pocket  
Taking this one to the grave  
If I show you then I know you won't tell what I said  
'Cause two can keep a secret if one of them is dead_

 _The Pierces – Secret_

Oh, cracker on a cracker! I was freaking out. Hyperventilating more specifically. I was so not ready to stumble on this. I should just walk away, yep, I should go my merry way and never look back. But my traitorous feet wouldn't move and my brain was maybe a little bit curious about the argument between Castiel and Dean freaking Winchester!

"Dean, don't go! It's a reckless idea. You will be running head first into the heart of the city, there are hundreds if not thousands of croats in that area. It's a suicide mission!" Castiel's deep baritone voice carried outside, "I don't have a good feeling about the run."

"Yeah and I don't have a good feeling ever! And what do you even care, Cas? Just pop a few pills and leave me the fuck alone."

"Is this about Sam?" I raised an eyebrow at Castiel's timid reply 'Who was Sam?'.

"Sam has nothing to do with this! I have a responsibility towards those people out here. I have to keep them alive." I jumped slightly at Dean's angry and loud voice. No wonder a lot of people showed such respect for him. I myself only saw him a few times around camp, but I never heard him speak.

"You keep this up and you're dead in a matter of months. Is it that, what you want?! Just let other people handle this once in a while." Castiel got louder and I heard heavy footsteps, probably one person crossing the cabin to the other side.

"I can't, I won't. This is what I can do, I can help Cas and I'll be damned if I don't do it."

"Dean." Castiel's voice seemed urgent.

"No, don't Dean me. Not you. You think you can reprimand me, but look at you! You are a mess, a fucking hippie, no angel mojo, only drugs and orgies – to forget that you lost your grace because of m… You're not the only one who has lost something… someone. Get your fucking shit together."

Wow, okay, what the huh – angel mojo, grace? What are they talking about?

Then there was a loud bang and a grunt. I suppressed a tiny squeak, hoping they wouldn't break out a fight in there. Because damn, I wouldn't know what to do.

"You have to let it go, let him go. I'm not saying it will ever be okay, but what good would it do if you -," Castiel's voice broke. "Dammit Dean, I will always be your friend and I will always care for you. Yes, I am a fucking mess and I have lost faith in my father, but I will never lose faith in humanity or in you. No, I will never lose faith in you, the righteous man," there was a pregnant pause. "Just please move on, you can't hold Sam here."

There was a small squabbling. "I come to believe, I liked you better when you were an angel and a dick!" – again with the angels? "And don't mention Sam ever again!"

I heard a clanking of glass against wood and faster than I could react, the heavy bead curtain of Castiel's cabin was lifted aside. The first thing I saw, were brown well-worn leather boots, then blue jeans and a green army jacket. A sinister feeling overcame me and I suddenly found it difficult to swallow. My eyes landed on his face. It was simply beautiful. Short light brown hair, freckles along the nose, quite a few stubbles on the cheeks, full lips. But the most fascinating thing were his eyes, they were forest green – and looked at me with a murderous expression. Well – what a turn of events. I certainly never imagined standing in front of Dean Winchester in a fluffy pyjama on a freezing morning, hoping he wouldn't kill me. What a life!

In the blink of an eye he stood before me and had me pressed against the wall of the nearest cabin. And let's not forget the freaking knife at my throat! He leaned close, "Who are you and what did you hear?" I whimpered and tried to press myself farther into the wall. I could feel the cold metal of the knife digging into my skin. He was so close, I could almost feel his body heat and his breath on my cheeks. I tried to answer him, but nothing came out. Dean narrowed his eyes. "Never mind, you didn't hear a word!" His fingers twitched around the handle of the knife. He always looked so collected in front of all the other people, but right now I didn't know what to make of him.

Everyone had heard rumours about the great Dean Winchester – our fearless leader – and what apparently went on behind closed doors and shut curtains. The screams and the blood, the religious carvings. I didn't believe any of it. Never saw or heard it with my own eyes or ears. But now I wasn't so sure anymore. Was something going on in this camp that nobody knew about?

"Dean, leave her alone!" It was Castiel, standing in his doorway and breaking Dean's eye-contact with me. Slowly, Dean looked at Castiel, huffed and lowered his knife. I let out a shaky breath, which earned me a calculating look from Dean and a threatening twist of his knife, before he stepped back completely and pocketed the deathly weapon.

"Go. You need to teach the rookies. It is your favourite past time, isn't it?" Despite Castiel's toothy grin, you couldn't fail to hear the light mocking tone of his voice. Dean just shot him a look which could only be interpreted as 'fuck off' and left shortly after without another word.

Oh boy, my knees! I was shaking and my eyes zoomed in on Castiel. "What the actual FUDGE just happened?!" I nearly screeched and pushed myself away from the wall.

"I am so sorry, young one." – young one? I gaped at him, but Castiel just smiled at me like the last five minutes never happened.

Wait a minute, just let me - "Are you kidding me, I had a freaking knife at my throat! I could have died! Oh God, am I going into shock? I'm going into shock! Jesus! I can't go into shock, this is so not happening. Dagnabbit, this is happening." I was pretty sure I was hyperventilating.

Castiel looked taken aback. "I assure you God and his son have nothing to do with you going into shock." He blinked owlishly at me, "And despite what Dean wants you to think of him, he is in no way evil and he would never hurt you." He nodded to himself and again with the toothy smile.

"Then what the fudge did just happen?" I cried out, desperately trying to make sense of everything – but Castiel took his time to answer, reaching into his pocket and pulling out something that looked suspiciously like a -

"You want a joint? I have plenty and I always find it easier to talk about difficult matters while expierencing the benefits of a high. I assume you have many questions about what you overheard?"

I stared at him. Was he actually being serious? "Ehm, no thanks and… maybe?"

"Well, you might change your mind after what I am going to tell you," he motioned with his hands for me to come forward. "Come on, I think Dean left a quarter of his whiskey. We will need it."

I just nodded, because my mouth felt too dry to speak. Every alarm clock in my head was going off as I followed Castiel into his cabin. He immediately plopped down on one of the cushions on the floor. "Feel free to sit wherever you like," he waved around the room and put the joint between his lips, lighting it on the first try. He inhaled und closed his eyes.

He hummed lightly, but said nothing more. After several minutes of silence, I couldn't hold in in any longer. "Well… What was that?"

Castiel blinked. "Right, I'll explain," another drag. "So there is this thing called the apocalypse and the croatoan virus."

"Well… everyone knows that." I countered and Castiel only laughed and shrugged his shoulders.

"I guess, but only a few know the origins and who the real puppet master is," He grinned and pointed a finger at me. "Now sit."

.

.

.

And that was when I learned about the supernatural world, about all the monster who went bump in the night, about demons, angels, the freaking devil and about Dean Winchester's true purpose.

I would never understand why Castiel told me all of it, why he trusted me with this story. I asked him why, but he simply shrugged his shoulders and answered that he somehow knew I needed to know this … (haha) but personally I thought his answer had more to do with that joint he was smoking. Truth be told, I lay awake that night in my tent, my whole body was trembling. I wanted to _not_ believe, but I couldn't shake off that feeling, that feeling of truth, of finally knowing, understanding, what was going on. Because if I was able to believe in a virus that produced zombies, then why should I not believe in the devil?!


End file.
